Wednesday, December 01, 2004

You've got to be kidding.

I got this e-mail (SPAM really). Which bring me to one of my beliefs about spam.

From: Teresa Pullio <pleasehelp@ukr.net>

To: undisclosed-recipients

Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 22:59:44 +0200

Subject: Ukrainian people need help!

HELP THE ORANGE REVOLUTION IN UKRAINE!

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets all over the country after November 21st presidential election run off. According to official returns, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, supported by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, won the election outstripping his rival — opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko — by about 3 per cent. Meanwhile, exit polls funded by Western democracies show Yuschenko’s convincing victory. The opposition alleged authorities of a large-scale and wide-spread rigging of the election and called on people to go on a general strike and start a civil disobedience movement. Thousands of people from all over the country arrived to Ukraine ’s capital, Kyiv (sic), and set up tents in the downtown area fighting freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls. Taking turns, they keep a round-the-clock protest rally going on Kyiv’'s (sic) main Independence Square.

If you want to support democracy in Ukraine and to help people striking in Kiev please transfer money to one of these bank accounts.

Thank you for help.

webmoney ID: <deleted/>

bill number: <deleted/>

or to e-gold: <deleted/>


The amazing thing to me is that this may actually work. Here is a real country in crisis. Some person with a home computer can send this stuff out, and gullible people everywhere give them money for free.

But my point here really is about economics. SPAM is the scourge of e-mail as POP UP are the scourge of HTML, and they exists because there is a small investment, with real profits in return. "Marketers" use SPAM because it works to get them money. If there was no money in it, they would stop.

Want to reclaim you inbox? Want to reclaim your browser (with out installing a pop-up blocker)? Then stop buying the products they advertise. And tell your friends to do the same.